Elise Valere: I already know that you
are a great actor since few years but I also read that you
are a singer in a rocks'group : could you give us more details about
this original way of life ?
Walter Tiraboschi: At the beginning, the fact to sing was more
like a game, in the sense where, if I am today the singer of
a rock group, it was an experience that started at the time of
the high school. There were pleasant projects of teenage youngs
that thereafter becomed more serious. The motor of this artistic
research especially comes of the affection that connected me
to my friends and the pleasure to be together. We could have
chosen to meet before a beer, but instead, we preferred to invest
our time to write some songs. I started in singing the songs
of other artists and afterthat, we evolved around the texts that
I write. My songs are a little sad even I don't know really the
main reason. Maybe because the artists are brought inevitably
to express the most problematic aspects than they carry inside
them when they write their own texts...
During a long period of
my life, I was convinced that performing in theater could have
been only a hobby. In fact, I had several serious professional
experiences, I even worked in a bank but I quickly understood
that whatever i do, I had to assume my identity and therefore
i wanted to decide if it was possible to live in only doing
theater... and it's now what I do for living since several
years. In addition to participate in those spectacles, I do
a lot of work connected to the formation of young adults. I
give some courses and especially since those last three years,
I work a lot in the conception of spectacles with those young.
It's a really important experience in the sense where what
you bring back at home has more value than what you give by
yourself, it confronts you to the reality of life, soo rich
in many things. Playing as an actor with those people also
redefines the theater in it various aspects because it's a main universe that
rely on so many delicate balances. In my opinion, there is two
keywords : the play, in the noblest sense of this term,
and also the generosity. I'm convinced that an actor who begins
to recite with the idea of " now I will show you how
i'm soo damned good" takes a wrong beginning. At the same
time, you can't forget the other face of the medal: if you don't
believe in what you make, you can not expect that the other will
believe in you.... here it is, for example, where resides the
definition of the delicate balance.
E.V.: Could you tell us how you have
been brought to participate in the lauda ?
W.T.: I had this splendid opportunity to work with an artist
as Angelo Branduardi by going to an audition, it was a great
occasion brought by destiny, I went there and I performed for
the cast, luckily, everything was all right. It was in February
2004, in fact... all this story took place the February 1, 2004...
And in those things being fortunate counts evidently; for example,
there was also the fact to have some physical similaries in relation
to the character that I had to play.
E.V.: Do you think that this artistic
experience has changed your identity ?
W.T.: Sure ! The lauda brought me a lot of things, I had
made many spectacles in the past but not as this professional
level, it also remained to be very important on a personnel level :
the fact to make so many spectacles all together all, to stay
far away from home during more than 2 months without interruption… and,
of course, the fact to be always on stage to give the best of
yourself as an actor ! It's a very important " gymnastic ",
very symbolic in the sense of it's a true test because a lot
of problems can emerge suddenly. There is also this something
else about beeing human : the group is very beautiful, but
evidently, you are living in tour with people that in spite of
all,you didn't choose. In this context, it's necessary to adjust
yourself to the others and every person's individual features
bring something newin this case. And then we were so lucky to
be able to play this spectacle in so many different contexts.
An important example is the way to recite that changes-until
a certain point-following the contexte : the contect, more
protected from theater rather than the one of a sport palace
or, radically different, in open air. There are some small tricks
in relation to the way to use the voice in theater performances,
we can try to play in using the tone lowest, trying to give different
colors... of course, on the contrary in open air, it's necessary
to use more power and more space with a loud voice.
E.V.: Can you remember your best memory
- or the most comic - of this experience ?
W.T.: There were
so many amazing situations.... Inevitably, we made more than
hundred representations !
Facing inconveniences even minor, every problem must necessarily
be solved and that fact is crucial. It happened that there
are some accidents, for example a girl felt badly on the floor
of the stage but mainwhile it was necessary to continue the
play... The result of this story was a bad leg'injury for this
girl that let her immobilized for two months. She couldn't
dance anymore, and this short story shows again the importance
to know how to handdle this kind of things and the necessity
to find quickly a solution.
One of the most fascinating aspects
was this beautiful opportunity to work with Angelo Branduardi.
Indeed, I'm very fascinated by music in general, and also by
good Italian music like the magistral pieces of some author-interpreter...
indeed it's a little bit strange for me to share the same stage
with a person that I always considered like an icone ! I discovered a very pleasant
human being. I especially remember the deep emotion that I felt
when... it was at the fourth representation, when Angelo took
the guitar to make a "bis" and sang with us on stage,
for the first time. It was " Confessioni d'un malandrino",
a marvelous song, one of the most beautiful in Italian music
history, and in this case, I had the goose flesh...yes, it was
a really intense moment.
E.V.: In January the lauda will continue abroad and the musical
will be an opportunity to continue to carry the message of San
Francesco in Italy...
W.T.: According to me, there is here a big challenge to make,
it is not a problem but the fact that the lauda is different
resides in the absence of all the reference brought by Angelo.
It's true that I sing, however I'm an author but it's necessary
to find a different approach. We cannot put ourself in the situation
to try to be Angelo Branduardi, we are not him and we never won't
be! It's therefore necessary to find different balances like
this possibility to say that the characters will express themselves
while singing. It becomes then a theatrical work, a lot more
theatrical way to bring back the tema. When Angelo Branduardi
is on stage with his personality, it is unavoidable that it is
unic.This explain the necessity to find a different balance here,
to make the artistical content more organic and more homogeneous.
This project is not so easy because these are important songs,
and also difficult by some aspects and characterized evidently
strongly by the fact that these are from Angelo. We cannot take
the risk to make a kind of karaoke, we must find a means to give
enought thickness to the character of Bernardo who sings the
songs because it is not me, Walter, who sings the chansons: I
don't want to be the singer, I want to be the actor... so, it's
why we need to put in place some balances to respect.
E.V.: Does it seem you that the musical
has as the Lauda a religious message or does the very nature
of this spectacle carry besides to something universel ?
W.T.: On a religious
point of view, I remained very fascinated by the person of
San Francesco. By what I had heard to say about him and also
after, during the making off of this spectacle. It was the
occasion for me to improve deeply my knowledge about this
really fascinating character... One of the permanent questioning
is the long debate to consider him more as a man or more
as an holistic person...it's a character of such a size and
such a wealth… it is
a really revolutionar figure linked to the topic that brought
to us numerous questions in relation to the mystical aspect
in our way to interpret these characters... Me, in my actorial
research, I tempt to find this lightness that doesn't bring
the risk to overload the figure played because I know that
it's a symbol that carries in his own his importance and holy
francis is already charged of pomposity... it is a dilemne,
the best path is the one that bring a conscious lightness as
a delicate balance to maintain...however it's also important
to try to stay distant of the risk to make the actors...
E.V.: But the fact that this saint comes
with you again one or two years, are you getting tired ?
W.T.: No, not at
all, it's exactly the inverse! It doesn't stop us from putting
ourself constantly in question. There was evidently the risk
to feel a certain feeling of inequation in a project of this
type but itis
beautiful to have this possibility to experiment it and to
be able to do it.
E.V.: Did you already have imagined
that one day you would have participated in such a projet ?
W.T.: No, I didn't figure it out but you know, I'm very fatalistic...
always interested by what will happen and the best way to find
the most creative solutions...
E.V.: For the public, what will make
the differences between the musical and the lauda ?
W.T.: In substance, structures are more or less the same. There
is the fact that evidently we won't have the reference that Angelo
Branduardi was bringing to the lauda . It's why we must bring
the musical differently, in order to make the artistical result
more organic.
E.V.: To give a very clear personality
to the musical ?
W.T.: It is exact,
we will act différently
as a single identity of a group.... It is a logical thing that
in the lauda, with such an artistical presence as Angelo Branduardi,
we were in a positive way as it must be- to the service of
an important artist like him. Because of his absence, we must
be stronger as group to be sure that the thing will work.
E.V.: Many things had changed to transform
a lauda in a musical ?
W.T.: There is a new actor whom in many way will recall the
narrator's face and it will be also him who tells the story.
But here, this narrator will also be a kind of player, making
amusing things with the idea behind to give back a rhythm. On
the point of view of the content, it retraces what Angelo already
said in the spectacle, that introduces and created the marvellously
set up in situation. Then, each plans superimpose themselves
giving as result a beautiful thing. The composition of the ballet
is the same and it is marvelous because these are very very gifted
girls. Regarding to music, we should sing on bases, there will
be also music in live, all will be new... It is a brand new responsibility...
E.V.: How was the first representation of this musical? How
the public react to this new musical ?
W.T.: The public ? Good...When we were in this theater
where there was something as 600 persons, there was a lot of
tension of our part facing this unknown situation. This tension
carries you to be concentrated especially on yourself and at
the same time we succeeded in alleging it together, to manage
to give our best to be more peacefull and efficient... however
it's why maybe the public reacted so well... Beeing in an artistic
situation where there is so many challenges to raise is a responsability :
we must try to remain distant of any forms of comparison, it's
a really fundamental aspect.
E.V.: What about further projets ?
is there a musical forecast soon?
W.T.: Our planning is not yet entirely definited because, before
the lauda goes to Germany, we have already in December few dates
of representation of this spectacle. It's more probable to say
than the musical will have it true beginning in the first months
of 2006.
E.V.: There are already a lot of popular spectacles speaking
about holy francis that turn in Italy. Do you think that this
musical is just one more or does it bring something more?
W.T.: In my opinion, a spectacle on holy francis with this artistic
density brought by the songs of Angelo Branduardi, it was never
done before. There is a vision little distorted... above all
it remains important to say that the lauda takes an historic
connotation because of it typical structure. There is unfortunately
in Italy the commun idea of the musical linked with the reference
to the American stereotype. I think differently, it's qualitatively
an interesting project, because the structure is more organic,
maybe a little less aesthetic thing but the dynamic brought by
this kind of structure pleases to me. Here, there is matter to
redefine a musical, because the spectacle has qualities that
very often makes defect to the classical musical. It's true that
there are a lot of spectacles inspired by the character of Holy
Francis, but it is a myth, that has tendence to be neglicted
in its complexity ... here,in my opinion, it's not the case thanks
to the deep songs used all along.
E.V.: Which element is the most important
for you ? The
production, the public or the place choosen for the spectacle?
W.T.: During the
representation, I don't let myself beeing conditioned nor
by the public nor by the situation, I am an actor of stomach.
I like to go in the optics to live intensely what's happening...
sometimes I use various way of playing in relation to the
different impulses that succeed on stage because it's important
to have the capacity to feel it to avoid to be too mechanical.
Most of the time, it's working like thateven it's not always...
however the basis of the idea resides there. I played many
and many spectacles but the mental approach that I privilege
is still the fact to put away all thoughts, like in the expression "to switch
off the brain" as the clown does! Otherwise when I recite,
I will be concentrated too much on the way that I have to use
my voice, I judge myself, there is too many things in the same
time… The most important remains what we do, this generosity
that pushes us to throw all faraway...
E.V.: Did a producer propose to make
a movie based on the structure of the musical? Do you think
it would be a good idée?
W.T.: it seems to me that this project was already proposed,
we already spoke about the hypothesis of this kind of film and
I think there are here all qualitative possibilities to do that
so it can be an interesting move.
E.V.: In such a case, are you interested
to make an apparition ?
W.T.: Yes, of course,
yes !
